Rotor & Wing Magazine :: Training :: Ratings

Thanks Rotor & Wing Two things. When did you start a monthly feature on maintenance, and bravo for it ("Maintenance Notebook," August 2008, page 58)?! I must have missed a meeting. Very timely subject too. Factory training is the most cost effective thing I can think of and he makes a very compelling case as well. The article on Silver State was very informative ("Silver State What...

Civilian Training vs. Military Training I’m frequently asked what the best way is to earn a helicopter pilot’s license, considering how much it costs to go to a flight school. They don’t have to go into much more detail than that, because I’ve been watching the cost of helicopter rentals rise ever since the mid-1980s when I thought $89 per hour for an R22 was outrageous. Guess what...

Human factors is the science of understanding the relationships of people, machines and technology. It recognizes the possibility of human error, and allows us the opportunity to identify this threat and resolve it before it becomes an incident or an accident. I recall my first cockpit resource management (CRM) course as a HH65A U.S. Coast Guard Dolphin pilot during the 1980s. The airlines had discovered...

Tips For the Flight Instructor They’ve known since childhood that being a helicopter pilot was the only thing they ever wanted to do. Dreams of landing on a deserted highway to assist in medical transport, a search and rescue assignment over snow-capped mountains, or lowering a basket to a stranded boater are just the beginning of the missions they want to fly. As flight instructors, it’s our...

Insiders talk about the sweet idea that suddenly went sour. It’s been a little more than a year since Silver State Helicopters (SSH) abruptly shut its doors on Feb. 3, 2008 and went out of business. That day also marked the last time that approx. 2,000 of its flight academy students saw any hope of getting the training they had paid nearly $70,000 for in advance. The perceived – and very...

It’s in the Cards The wheels no more than hit the pavement and the usual frenzy breaks loose as 80% of the passengers on the plane scramble to get their cell phones out and turned on. As I look around I can’t help but wonder what in the world we ever did before cell phones. Eventually I follow suit, break mine out, turn it on and call my point of contact for an update. Two hours and a short cab...

To learn about a Robinson helicopter, one must read its pilot’s operating handbook. To learn about the people who fly them and put them to use, one should read the newly released book entitled Robbie: The Robinson...

Aircrew Coordination Aircrew coordination, cockpit resource management, cockpit coordination, cockpit communication management...these terms refer to the same basic principles of ensuring the sum of the members of an aircraft crew is greater than the individuals themselves. Computer-based training programs are great tools to enhance aircrew coordination training. We don’t know how many accidents...

Background Checks When hiring a pilot, flight evaluations and background checks should be standard procedure, but in today’s pilot-shortage market, some operators might just be happy to find a pilot willing to work for what they are paying. The following account looks at a pilot’s background from training through employment. According to the FAA, this pilot obtained a student pilot certificate...

Pilot Responsibility — Where Has it Gone? Where is the FAA? That’s the question we all ask following an aircraft mishap. But the question that really should be asked is, where is pilot responsibility in general aviation these days? We all rely on the FAA to answer all of our safety and policy questions and to solve the problems that plague the general aviation industry. What do we want FAA...

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